Sam's Return, Don't let go
by roque872002
Summary: *This story has been re-written. Sorry for the delay again * Sam returns to the SGC for the first time in four years with a secret. SJ although thats a long way off. But is slightly implied from the beginning. Mention of rape, but nothing graphic.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Sam's return

Author: roque872002

Email: see profile

Website: need help with that.

Rating: T – for safety.

Category: Hurt/Comfort. Not sure what else.

Pairing: none just yet, but hopefully turn into SJ much later in the story.

Season: any – as long as Jack is still a Colonel and Janet and Jacob are still alive.

Spoilers: none that I can think of just now.

Summary: This story has been re-written. Sam returns to the SGC for the first time with a secret.

Disclaimer: I own nothing – apart from Jake.

Author's notes: I originally wrote this years and years ago. But it desperately needed to be re-done as it was – back then – crap. Personally I think this version is much better, and much more believable. I hope you all enjoy this story and continue to stay with me as I update. So far I have about 25 pages written and typed up on word. I was waiting until I had more done, but since this part has been beta'd, I thought I would share it with you all. A huge thank you to my beta for reading over this and the advice she gave.

--

Sam walked from one end of the room to the other, grabbing everything she needed as she went. After making sure she had absolutely everything in her bag she crouched down in front of her nearly three year old son. He looked so much like his father, even at his young age. They were so similar, same unruly hair, mischievous eyes and cheeky smile, but Sam wouldn't have him any other way.

"You be good for Diane, okay? Mummy will see you for dinner."

"Yes mummy, love you," he threw himself into his mother's arms and held on tightly.

"I love you too baby," she replied as her arms snaked round her son's small frame. After a few moments she drew back and gave him a quick kiss before standing up.

Thanking Diane once again she waved goodbye to them both. Getting into her car she tried to compose herself. Today was a big day. Today was the day she was going back to the SGC for the first time in nearly four years. Putting the car into gear she drove off down the street and towards the mountain.

------

Half an hour later, Sam found herself sitting in General Hammond's office. Looking around the small room she noticed that nothing had changed. Except her circumstances. The last time she had been in that room she had had to explain her reasons for wanting to leave the Air Force and the mountain. It wasn't an easy thing to do, to tell the General that she was pregnant, especially considering who the father was.

The father of her unborn child, at the time, wasn't exactly in the best of moods and had told her that if she was to bother him again he would have her brought up on charges.

She knew subconsciously that he probably didn't mean it, and after calming down properly, he would be back to his normal playful childish self. She knew it was wrong to just up and leave, but back then, she didn't care. He had hurt her too much. Much more than he could ever know.

Hearing the door of the office open, she looked up to see General Hammond walk into his room. Sam stood up at his arrival. They looked at each other for a few moments before embracing in a friendly hug.

"It's so good to see you again Sam. How's the little one?" Hammond asked after pulling away from the hug and gesturing to her to take her seat once again.

"It's good to see you again too Sir. Oh he's fine, gets more and more like his dad every day. Which is scary considering they've never met. Is he still here?" she asked nervously.

"Yes he is, but I wouldn't expect a warm welcome if I were you. He didn't take too well to the fact you left without saying goodbye."

"Yeah I thought as much. But he didn't really make it all that easy. He threatened me with charges, and of course, my raging hormones didn't help any either. I was just hoping to talk to him and explain things, but I know that won't be easy."

--------------

Jack walked up the metal staircase leading from the control room to the briefing room. He had every intention of walking into the General's office with no warning but stopped halfway across the room. There, sat in the General's office, was the one blonde haired woman he thought he'd never see again. Sam.

Deciding to wait instead of barging in, Jack sat down in one of the chairs surrounding the table. He looked at his hands in his lap and sighed. She was back. How the hell was he going to deal with all this?

They hadn't exactly parted on the best circumstances. Hell, the last thing he had said to her before she left was "leave me the hell alone or I'll have you brought up on charges." Not goodbye, or keep in touch or take care of yourself, but leave me the hell alone. Nice one.

He hadn't meant what he said. So why had he said it?

He was in no mood for anyone back then. It had been one hell of a mission, for all of them. A simple recon mission with SG-3 and 5 had ended in a fire fight with the Goa'uld and three dead. Three good men, with wives and children. It shouldn't have ended that way. But nothing could be done.

Slowly he looked over towards the room and took in her appearance. Her hair was still the same shade of blonde, but a lot longer. It now fell at her shoulders, half up and half down. She seemed to have put on a little bit of weight, but she looked good. Relaxed and happy. Happier than he had ever seen her. Had she met someone?

Looking back down at his hands he tried to reign in his emotions. He had been so angry when she had left. He had done everything to get in touch with her. After numerous failed phone calls and failed e-mail deliveries, he had resorted himself to go to her house, only to find she had moved and sold it.

It was then that he realized that he had lost her for good. Neither Daniel nor Teal'c knew where she had gone. He was sure General Hammond knew something, but he didn't let on. There was no way he was going to find out where she had gone.

He spent many nights in front of the TV worrying about her and drowning his sorrows with beer. He was too concerned and depressed to eat or sleep and had eventually been put out of active duty by Doctor Frasier. It had been a long and slow recovery. But in the end he had pulled himself together enough to make himself to eat and sleep so he could go back to work.

-----------

General Hammond watched as Jack entered the briefing room and takes a seat at the table. He also didn't miss the wave of sadness flash across his features. This was going to be tough on all of them.

"Now may be your chance to talk to him Sam," Hammond said quietly.

Sam looked out into the briefing room and saw her ex-CO sitting at the table, hands in his lap and head hanging. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sam stood up and walked over to the door and put her hand on the handle. Looking once more at the General, Sam opened the door and walked out of one room and into the other.

"Hi, Sir," she started nervously as she came to a stand still beside his chair.

"Carter," he replied quietly, not looking away from his hands.

"I was wondering… if we could… talk..."

"Nothing to talk about Carter. You left, and now your back. What's there to say?" he said harshly as he looked at her attentively. The intensity of his stare made her wince and take a step backwards.

"It's important. I think you'd like to know," she stated, standing her ground as he stood up and straightened to his full height.

"Well that's where you're wrong. I don't want to know. Nor do I particularly want to speak to you right now. So if you don't mind, I'll leave. And no, I won't tell you where I'm going, how to get in contact or when I'll be back," he spat at her before pushing past her and walked into the office she had recently left.

Sam looked at the floor trying to hold back the tears as she heard the door slam. Turning around she found Hammond looking at her with regret in his eyes. She gave him a small smile before walking out of the room and down the corridor towards the elevator. At least Daniel would be happy to see her.

---------

"Mind if I interrupt?" Sam asked as she walked into Daniel's lab.

"Sam?!" Daniel's head shot up at the familiar voice. As soon as he saw her standing in the doorway, he jumped off his seat and ran towards her, enveloping her in a hug. "It's so good to see you again! Where did you go? WHY did you go?"

"It's a long story Daniel. But I have something important to tell you. And I would love for you to meet him."

"Meet him? Sam what are you on about?" Daniel asked, confused.

"Can you come over tonight? Around six? Please, it would mean so much to me."

"Yeah sure Sam, of course. I'll need your new address though."

"Yeah, um, you got a pen and paper?" Sam asked, clapping her hands together. Daniel turned around and rummaged for a few moments before handing her then pad and pen. Quickly writing down her new address, she added her new phone number to the end of it. Handing the pad and pen back to Daniel, she looked at the ground and said, "Do you hate me?"

"Oh God, no. Sam I don't hate you! I'm just glad your okay and that your back!" Daniel replied, shocked.

"Thanks Daniel. I, uh, spoke to the Colonel just before I came down to see you. I think he hates me," she said sadly and quietly.

"Oh Sam, he didn't take to you leaving very well. He just needs time to adjust and come to terms with things. He'll come round."

"Maybe. So… six? I need to go see everyone else, is that okay?" she said, thumb pointed towards the door, a sad look in her eyes.

"Yeah, six. See you then. It's really nice to have you back again Sam, I mean that. Don't worry about Jack, everyone else will be glad your back. We've really missed you."

--------------------

Sam opened the door of her house at exactly 6pm, to find a rather nervous looking Daniel standing on her porch. She smiled warmly at him and ushered him into the house.

"Thanks for coming Daniel, um, would you like some dinner? There's probably too much anyway."

"Um, sure, thanks," he replied as he followed Sam into the living room. The smell of Chinese food caused his stomach to rumble.

Glancing around the room, he took it all in. There was a TV in one corner, and a CD player in another. Beside the CD player was a stack of shelves filled with CD's and DVD's. The walls were a cream colour and the sofa and chairs were a chocolate brown. Photos lined the walls at various intervals.

"Jake," Sam called out, interrupting Daniel's thoughts.

Daniel looked over at Sam, who was smiling, then to where she was looking. A small boy had appeared at her legs. His hair was messy and light brown in colour. He looked up at Daniel with big brown curious eyes, and smiled cheekily at the look on Daniel's face.

Sam picked up her son and put him on her hip. She looked at Daniel and suddenly felt uncomfortable. She knew her son looked like his dad, but she hadn't expected Daniel to pick up on it straight away. She looked at him nervously.

"Daniel, this is my son, Jake. Jake, this is your Uncle Daniel."

"Your son?" Daniel asked, in shock.

"Yeah, I'll tell you everything once he's in bed, I promise."

-------

Sam sat down on her sofa and picked up her coffee. Getting her son to go to bed had been a challenge. Looking over at her guest, she knew she had to tell him everything. Not because she had promised, but because he was her friend.

Sighing, she took the plunge. "He's Colonel O'Neill's."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes: WOW! I've been truly overwhelmed by the response I had to the first chapter! It's unbelievable! Thank you so much! 19 reviews so far as well it being added to 2 favourites and 27 alerts!

Just to clear up a few things: Sam has left the Air Force - that was said in the first chapter, when she was in Hammond's office. And to whether Jack knew she was pregnant, this chapter should clear things up for that. And to the person who reviewed saying this was out of character for Jack, I don't think it is all that much. Sam left without a word of goodbye; he's feeling rejected – and so is rejecting her in turn. Jack isn't the kind of person to forgive to easily is he?

So far I have 5 chapters worth typed up and beta'd so it shouldn't be long in between those updates. I am typing up more and more each day so hopefully updates should be regular. But just so you know, my granny has just recently had a stroke and I'm taking it upon myself to help my grandpa out, so I can't promise updates everyday/every few days. She needs a lot of care, I hope you all understand.

Anyway, that's my rant over; I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as you did the first.

--

"Yeah, I figured that one out on my own… does Jack know?"

"No. I tried really hard to talk to him before I left, but you know what he was like back then. I even called him when I had my scans, went into labour, when he was born and both of his birthdays. But every time he answered I panicked and hung up.

"He probably still doesn't remember how, where and why Jake is here. We were on P7X 913, do you remember? The locals were having a party and we were invited. We were all offered that traditional drink, but I was the only one who didn't have any. I was on antibiotics at the time. You went into a deep sleep, Teal'c was dancing with the locals, that still makes me laugh, and Colonel O'Neill… well it made him do things he would never normally do. He asked me to go for a walk with him. I didn't see the harm so I went. When we were far enough away he pulled me towards him, he started kissing me. Then he went further. One thing lead to another. I tried to stop him, but he was too strong, I couldn't hold him off…" Sam cried, tears rolling down her face.

"Oh God, Sam, he raped you and he has no idea. I'm so sorry."

"I didn't want him to get punished for something that he couldn't even remember, so I went straight to General Hammond. I told him everything and that I wanted to leave. Get myself sorted out."

Daniel held her while she cried. Sam froze at the contact, but slowly relaxed. Daniel would never do anything to hurt her. By 10pm Sam was exhausted. She saw Daniel out, thanked him for the company and for listening, and then headed off to bed. She instantly fell asleep.

----------------

Jack strolled into Daniel's office early the next morning, to find the young man already engrossed in one of his books.

"Morning Daniel," he said cheerfully.

"Go away Jack, I'm not talking to you right now."

"What?"

"You heard."

"Why?"

"I went to Sam's last night."

"And she turned you against me. Great."

"Actually, you did that yourself."

"What are you on about?"

"Your Black Ops trained Jack, I thought you'd have some control over your actions," Daniel said as he pushed past the older man.

--------------

Jack knocked on the door in front of him. The door of the house belonging to his former 2IC. Daniel's words still sounding like a broken record in his head "…actually you did that yourself….. some control of your actions…". He had to know what was going on.

Sam opened the door a few moments later, a sandwich in hand. She looked at her guest in shock. He was the last person she expected to see.

"Hi Sam," he said quietly.

"Hi Colonel," she replied, "Do you need something?"

"Actually, yeah. An explanation. You said you had something important to tell me, so I'm here to listen. You know… if you still want to tell me…"

"Um, ok, come in… would you like a coffee or beer or something?" she asked as she moved towards the kitchen. Jack following closely behind.

"Uh, just coffee, I need to get back to the mountain at some point."

Sam quickly made the coffee and led him into the living room. It was then that he noticed the toys.

"A little old for toys aren't you Carter?"

"Actually, that was what I wanted to talk to you about."

"You've got a toy obsession?" he asked jokingly.

"Do you remember P7X 913?"

"Vaguely. What has that got to do with anything?"

"We were invited to the native's party, and they gave us that drink, the one where you couldn't remember anything the next day?" he nodded. "Well, you, um…"

"Sam?" he asked nervously.

"You, uh, you… raped me… I got pregnant, I tried to talk to you… but you wouldn't listen…"

"I raped you? Oh God! Sam, I'm so sorry…" he looked around the room, noticing all the toys scattered across the floor. "So all these toys are…"

"My… Your… Our son's," she said quietly.

"Son? I have a son?"

"Yeah, you do. Do, do you remember all those phone calls you used to get? As soon as you said something the person would hang up?"

"That was you?"

"Yeah, after every scan, when I went into labor, when he was born, and his birthdays. I'm so sorry, I panicked."

"What's his name?" Jack asked quietly, looking at his empty coffee mug.

"Jake."

"After dad."

"Yeah… Colonel?"

"Sam... You've had my child, call me Jack."

"I didn't think… well, I hoped… you wouldn't mind… Jake's his middle name."

"His middle name? What's his first? Don't tell me you called him Jonathan."

"No, it's … Charlie," she said, looking at him in the eye. She could see the shock pass over his face, and the pain of remembering his dead son.

"Sam…"

"Colonel, I don't care what you say, it's Charlie whether you like it or not," she interrupted, standing her ground.

"I was gonna say thanks," he replied.

"Oh, okay. Well he should be back soon. Diane took him to the park. Do you want to meet him now? Or wait till it's all settled in?"

"How long until he's back?" he asked a small smile on his face.

"Any minute," she answered.

Immediately afterwards, the front door swung open and a small boy came hurdling through.

"Mummy, Jake is home!" the little boy called as he ran into the room. He stopped at the door and looked at the man opposite his mother. "Not Unca Daniel."

"No, not Uncle Daniel, come here baby."

The small boy cautiously made his way across the room to his mother, never taking his eyes off the man sat opposite her. Upon reaching Sam, he turned to look at her. "Jacket off."

An elderly woman entered the room carrying a football. Her gray hair was permed and her eyes were framed by silver spectacles. She greeted the two adults, made small talk then left shortly after.

Once Jake was free of his jacket, jumper and shoes, he turned towards Jack. "Hi," he said his voice full of confidence.

"Hi," Jack managed to say.

"Jake, can you remember why we had to move here?" Sam asked, as she picked up her son and rested him on her hip.

"So mummy gets 'way from Unca Mark," the child replied innocently.

"Apart from that."

"Um… Find Jake's daddy!" he exclaimed happily. "Yeah! Find Jake's daddy!"

Sam smiled down at her son, and then looked over towards Jack, who was looking incredibly nervous. "Well baby, I found him. Baby this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, but I'm sure if you give him a smile and say please, you can call him daddy."

"You is Jake's daddy?" excitement laced his voice.

"Yeah kid."

"Give daddy hug," Jake said as he lent over towards Jack so he would take him. Jack took his son from Sam and held him in his arms. A lone tear made its way down his cheek as he held onto the little boy.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: thank you to all who reviewed. I agree when people who said Jack was too calm, hopefully this will redeem him a little bit. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please review.

And thank you to those who wished my granny well.

--

Jack entered his house angrily and slammed the door behind him. He pushed the table beside the door to the ground, effectively breaking it into five pieces and sending the contents crashing to the floor.

How could he have done this to her? Why hadn't he listened? God, why had he been so stupid? He knew this was his entire fault. If only he hadn't pushed her away, this could all have been avoided.

He had a son. A son who looked exactly like him. He had inherited his brown hair and eyes; he also had his cheeky smile. He was adorable. He would probably have his mother's brains though. He had that smart look about him, just like Sam had.

He ran a hand through his hair and over his face. He knew his life was now changed forever. But he also knew that he would get used to it very quickly if he was given the chance.

He took off his shoes and threw them across the room, sending them crashing into the wall. He groaned and hit his fist off the wall he was closest to. His anger dissipating a little.

Oh God, did Jacob know? Fear flooded him.

--

General Hammond entered the briefing room with a sigh. It had been a long day, and it was no where near over. He still had a lot of paperwork to do, make several phone calls and two mission briefings to attend.

And he apparently had a certain Colonel to deal with, who was sat at the table playing with a pen.

"Colonel? Something bothering you?"

"I just met my kid."

"Jack-" the General started.

"He's nearly three, and this is the first time I've heard about him."

"Jack-" the General tried again.

"She tried to phone you know, let me know I had a kid, but she got scared and hung up. I raped her General. What kind of CO and friend does that?"

"You were drugged Jack, she doesn't blame you."

"He looks like me you know. Same brown hair and brown eyes. There's no denying he's mine," he paused. "I'm Black Op's trained General. How could this happen?"

"Jack you were drugged. You all were. You had no control of your actions. Sam knows that. She also loves that little boy more than anything else in the world."

"Of that I have no doubt."

"She was scared of your reaction Jack, don't hold that against her."

"What I don't understand is, you knew the entire time. Why she left, where she went, everything. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my place, you know that. Believe me, I wanted to, but I knew Sam would do it in her own time. I know he's nearly three, but she at least told you face to face. And you have met him."

"Yeah, I guess. It was a bit of a shock."

"Jack, why don't you take some time off? Get to know your son, work things out with Sam? Report back in a week." The General suggested, hoping the Colonel would take the offer.

"Thanks General," Jack eagerly accepted. He quickly got up off his seat and walked out of the room, making his way to the locker room to change.

'Yes', the General thought, 'it's going to be a long day.'

--

Half an hour later Jack was once again standing in front of Sam's door. He could hear Jake nearby calling out to his mother that there was someone at the door. He smiled to himself when he heard his son say "maybe is daddy." Yeah, he was going to enjoy having his son in his life.

The door in front of him opened and he was basked in light. He smiled weakly at Sam as she stood staring at him, not really knowing what to expect.

His weak smile turned into a full blown grin as his son threw himself towards him, his small arms holding tightly around his legs as he shouted "daddy!" excitedly. Jack bent down and picked up the small boy and put him on his hip.

"Hey there kid! You been a good boy for mummy?" he asked as Sam stepped back to let him in.

"Uh huh, I eated all my dinner daddy! Mummy says I be big and strong when I is big!"

"You certainly will, my boy!" Jack agreed.

"Daddy play with Jake?"

"Sure thing kiddo, if that's alright with your mum," Jack said as he looked over at Sam, who was standing a few feet away from them with her arms wrapped around herself and a sad look on her face.

"Yeah, that's fine. Go ahead, I have stuff to do anyway," she replied, sounding as though she was going to cry.

"Yay, daddy play with Jake!" the little boy said while clapping his hands, oblivious to his mother's pain.

Jack however, wasn't.

"You sure that's okay? I can go…" he offered as he put his son down on the floor.

"No, it's fine, go play," she said dismissively.

"Come play daddy!" Jake said as he grabbed his fathers hand and attempted to drag him into the living room. "Come play!"

"I'll be there in a minute squirt, go ahead," Jack said softly.

"Okies!" the little boy said as he let go of his fathers hand and ran into the other room, leaving his parents alone.

"Sam…"

"No. Its fine, go play with your son," she replied as she turned and walked the other way into the kitchen, leaving him standing in the hall.

--

"Don't wanna go seep!" Jake protested, hitting his arms off his bed.

"Jake, buddy, its way past your bedtime. You need to go to sleep."

"But daddy!" he whined.

"I'll see you tomorrow, but you need to go to sleep now. How 'bout we go to the park tomorrow? That sound good?" Jack tried to bribe the boy.

"Yeah, go park!"

"You need to go to sleep then kid. I'll see you tomorrow," Jack said as he placed a light kiss on his son's forehead.

"Night daddy," he yawned.

Jack pulled up the duvet on the bed and quietly left the room, leaving the door slightly open. He made his way to the end of the hall and down the stairs. Upon entering the living room, where he had left Sam, he saw that she wasn't there. Listening closely, he could hear movement in the kitchen and made his way there.

He lent against the door frame and took in the sight before him. She had taken her hair down so it was lying just below her shoulders. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows as she rinsed and stacked the dishwasher full of the dirty dishes. Even though her son was only two, he could certainly eat a lot.

"Sam… I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable today," he started, as she turned round to look at him.

"You came to see your son, you have every right," she replied in a low tone, not sounding very happy about the whole thing.

"Yeah, but I should have called. Given you some warning. Instead of just turning up unannounced," he paused. "I kinda promised to take him to the park tomorrow, is that alright? Or do you want me to stay away?"

"Take him to the park. I wont have you upsetting my child by letting him down with promises you can't keep," her voice was dangerously low.

"Your child?" he repeated. "Sam he's my child too! You know that! You wouldn't have him if it wasn't for me!" he could hear his voice getting louder.

"And if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have him either!" she threw back.

"You know I'm sorry for what happened on that planet, I didn't even know until you told me! What more do you want?!"

"You have no idea what I went through that night! That night was the worst night of my life, and it was all because of you! Only one good thing came out of it, and he's upstairs in bed. I went through nine months of pregnancy, 34 hours of labour, and nearly three years as a single parent. And all of that was filled with nightmares about you and what happened that night. You know, when he was born they took him away. There were complications. He couldn't breathe. He was BLUE Colonel! I thought he was going to die.

"But obviously he didn't. I raised him on my own for three years, with Mark and his wife occasionally helping out. Do you know how it feels to have gone through all of that, then introduce him to his father and feel like your whole world has fallen apart? After all I've done in three years, THREE YEARS COLONEL, you've replaced me in less than a day," she vented, her voice getting louder and louder with every word.

"Sam you know I could never replace you, even if I wanted to, which I don't! You're his mother! You mean everything to him! If you didn't want me to 'replace' you, then why did you come back?" he asked a harsh tone evident in his voice.

"He has every right to know his father, he was asking for you. He noticed all the other children had fathers, but he didn't. I did this for him. No one else," she paused for a long time. "And you had the right to know you fathered a child. Even though you don't deserve him."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: thank you to all of you for your reviews! I'm truly overwhelmed. I hope you all enjoy this chapter just as much. All reviews are welcome and if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to share. I may need them later on in the story. It's taken on a life of its own!

--

"I don't deserve him?" he asked shocked and in pain. The thought of Charlie crossing his mind. How he missed his son.

"You said that yourself years ago," she replied.

"I know. I may not deserve my son, but he's here, he knows who I am now, you can't stop him from seeing me if he wants to," he said, defending himself. He was not going to give up his son easily.

"I know that Colonel, I'm not going to. The only thing I want is for my son to be happy, and if that involves him seeing you, then I guess I'm just going to have to live with that."

"Yes. Yes you will. I should go," he said as he turned around and started walking towards the door.

"Don't forget to take my son to the park tomorrow," she said as she followed him out into the hall.

"Our son Sam. Our son. And no, I wont forget him," his voice laced with venom.

Sam watched as he opened the door and walked out, leaving her to close it behind him.

She quietly closed the door and backed up against it. Sliding down the wood, she found herself sitting on the floor, her knees to her chest. She laid her head on her knees as she started to cry.

Jack stood at the other side of the door. He could hear her crying. He knew he had caused her to cry. He felt his heart sink, he knew things between them would be strained, but that was before he knew they had a child together. That just made things harder. Sighing, he turned back towards his truck. His jacket could wait until tomorrow; he would be back then anyway.

--

The 'Gate activated early the next day. Once the iris code had been received it twirled open and a lone figure stepped through. Jacob Carter.

General Hammond walked from the control room down into the 'Gate room to greet his friend.

"Jacob, what a pleasant surprise!" Hammond said as he embraced his friend in a hug. "What brings you here?"

"Good to see you too George. I'm actually here on a social call. Dying to see that young grandson of mine again. Can you believe he's nearly three?" he asked as they made their way to the briefing room.

"How the time fly's," Hammond replied. "Jacob, you should probably know, Sam's back in the Springs. She's told Jack all he needs to know."

"Really?" he asked, getting a nod in reply. "It's about time. I can kick his ass from here to next week now."

--

"JACK O'NEILL!" Jacob bellowed down the halls of the SGC.

Jack froze on the spot when he heard who was calling his name. 'Crap,' he thought. 'I'm in trouble, why did I have to come here today? I'm meant to be on leave.'

"Jacob! Good to see you again! Gotta go!" he managed to get out as he turned round to face the elder Carter.

"HOLD IT! I want a word with you!" Jacob's eyes flashed gold as he looked at Jack with hatred.

"Office?" he sounded like a strangled cat.

Jacob then marched the Colonel down towards his office and slammed the door behind them.

"Now Colonel, I understand – from what George has told me – that my DAUGHTER is back in the Springs," Jack nodded, scared to say anything. "And I also understand that she's told you about her SON, and the involvement YOU had." Once again Jack nodded. "I've waited a long time for this conversation Jack, believe me. You have NO IDEA how many times I've wanted to kick your ass for what you've done to her."

"Jacob, you have no idea how bad and sorry I feel about this whole thing. You know that I had no idea what I was doing! I only found out yesterday," Jack found his voice and defended himself.

"And that's the only reason you're not dead!" Jacob shouted back.

"I know. Jacob, you have to know that I want to do what's right for them. I want to help my son. I want to help your daughter. I want to be involved. But I don't think she wants me to. We had a … slight … disagreement last night before I left. But I'm to go back today, I promised the kid I'd take him to the park."

"He's a great little guy isn't he?" Jacob asked, his attitude changing entirely.

"Yeah he's something else. Whole lot of energy," Jack agreed.

"He can count to ten you know, recognizes the numbers when they're written down, and knows animal sounds," Jacob said as a very proud Grandpa.

"Really? Smart kid," Jack asked. "But that's a given. Look at who his mother is!"

"So when are you heading over?"

"Don't know yet. I just know I have to. She doesn't want me upsetting _her_ child with promises I can't keep," he sighed in reply.

"She said that?"

"Yup. We kinda fell out about that. She also said I had replaced her in less than a day."

"She's just insecure Jack."

"Yeah."

--

"GRANDPA!" Jake yelled as soon as Sam opened the door to her guest.

The small child ran past his mother and into the waiting arms of his grandfather. The little boy held on with all his might, not fully believing his grandpa was actually there.

"DADDY!" he yelled when he caught the sight of the man standing behind them.

"Hey there squirt," Jack said.

"Park today daddy!" he exclaimed.

"You'll need shoes on then sport!" Jacob replied before anyone else could say anything.

"And a jacket," Sam said softly. "Come on kiddo; let's get you ready to head out."

Jacob handed Sam her son, who went more than willingly. He snaked his arms around his mother's neck and planted a wet kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks for that Jay," she said before kissing him back the same way.

She carried him over to the stairs and placed him on the second stair up. Reaching over she grabbed his shoes from the corner and began to put them on.

"Jake goes to park mummy," he said while putting his arms in his jacket.

"I know you're going to the park baby. Grandpa and I will see you when you get back. Be good, and try to stay out of trouble," she said as she zipped up his jacket and ruffled his hair.

"Relax Sam, he's gonna be with me!"

"Exactly, that's why I said TRY to stay out of trouble," Sam retorted.

"Okay, you ready to go squirt?" he asked his son, clapping his hands together, and trying to change the subject.

"Ready daddy!" he said clapping his hands together, copying his father, and then holding out his hand for him to hold. "Bye mummy! Bye grandpa! Jake goes play in park!"

"Bye baby, behave."

"Yes mummy," he waved his family goodbye.

Sam closed the door behind them and rested her head against it, letting out a long sigh.

"Sam, you okay?" her father asked, concerned.

"Yeah, it's just… it's hard," her voice was shaky.

"I know kiddo, but you knew this would probably happen. It's best for Jake to know his father," he said soothingly while he rubbed her shoulders. "Come on, let's make coffee and have a chat."

"Okay," she agreed.

After making the coffee, Sam led the way to the sofa. She made herself comfortable and tried to think of a way to avoid the upcoming conversation. Ideas eluded her.

"Sam, I know this is hard for you, but Jake needs him, you know he does. Otherwise you wouldn't have come back," Jacob started.

"I know. I need to do what's best for my son, but dad, I've done this – mainly – on my own for nearly three years. I feel as though I've been replaced. All he talks about now is 'daddy'. Why do I feel this way?" she cried.

"Sam, what you're feeling is probably normal, like you said – you've done this on your own so far. And you've done a wonderful job with him. I don't think I've met a happier little boy," he tried to reason.

"At least he's happy, that's all I want."

"Sammie, honey, are you happy?"

"Only when Jake's around. When he isn't… things are different entirely," she reluctantly confessed.

"Still on the anti-depressants?" Jacob softly asked his only daughter.

"Yeah," she nodded; a few tears fell down her face.

Jacob placed his empty coffee mug on the coffee table in front of them, then took his daughter into his arms where she wept freely, knowing she was safe with her father.

"Oh baby girl, this will get easier, I promise you," he soothed, running his hand up and down her back.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: another chapter folks! Thank you to all who read and reviewed. Last chapter didn't get as many reviews as the previous ones… does this mean no one likes it anymore:'( -cries-. I don't know when I'll be able to get chapter 6 up, cuz my beta is on holidays at the min, but I'll have it up as soon as poss. Promise. Hope you all enjoy, and PLEASE review –begs-.

--

It was a few hours before Jake re-entered the house, in a much messier state than what he had left in.

"MUMMY! GRANDPA!" he called as he ran into the living room.

"Jake! What are you covered in?" Sam asked when she saw the state her son was in.

"Ice cream!" he said, happiness filling his voice.

"Well kiddo, I think you're wearing most of it," Jacob chuckled, and Jake laughed along with him as Jack cautiously entered the room.

"I think you need a bath young man!" Sam stated.

"No! No go in bath!" Jake cried before running behind Jack.

"Yes, bath time," she said as she stood up from the sofa.

"No!"

"5…" she started to count.

"No go in bath!"

"4…"

"Daddy!"

"3…"

"Grandpa!"

"2…"

"Okies! Bath!" he relented.

"Good boy, come on then," she held out her hand and waited a few moments before he reluctantly took it.

"Daddy didn't save Jake from bath," he said as his mother led him out if the room.

"Either did Grandpa kiddo," Sam agreed.

"Should I go?" Jack asked Jacob, once he heard Sam and Jake climb the stairs towards the bathroom.

"He'll never forgive you if you leave without saying goodbye. And Sam will never forgive you for upsetting him. So, no, stay just now."

Jack sighed loudly and sat down on one of the comfortable chairs, patiently waiting for his son to arrive back in the room. Looking round he noticed Jacob staring at him. And not in the friendly way.

'Yeah, he's still REALLY mad at me,' Jack thought while trying to avoid the older mans continuous glares.

---

"Mummy," Jake said quietly as he entered his mother's room in the small hours of the morning.

"Jake, what is it? Its 2am," she replied sleepily.

"Doesn't feel well mummy," Sam was immediately on full alert.

"What's wrong baby?" she asked him soothingly as she picked him up and held him to her chest.

"Feels sick, gots sore tummy," he said as tears fell down his innocent face.

"Oh baby, it'll be okay. I think you just had too much ice cream yesterday," she said while running her fingers through his soft hair.

"Wants daddy," he said before throwing up on Sam.

"Thanks for that kid, okay, right… bath for you," she stood up as best she could and walked out into the hall, Jake nodding against her chest. "DAD!" she called.

Jacob was at the door of the guest bedroom as soon as she finished calling his name. He looked at his daughter with sympathy. She was covered in vomit.

"I'll wash him, you go wash yourself," he said to her before taking his ill grandson. "Too much ice cream sport?" Jake once again nodded through his tears.

"Wants daddy," he repeated.

"Don't worry sport, we'll call him, let's get you cleaned up first," Jacob said in a child-like voice.

Jake reluctantly agreed, only if he got to speak to his 'daddy'.

After Sam had washed herself and stripped her bed, she took the cordless house phone and dialed the still familiar number. As soon as it started to ring she passed it to her ill son.

"O'Neill," came the muffled reply.

"Daddy?" Jake asked softly.

"Jake? Buddy, what are you doing calling?" Jack asked intrigued.

"Jake been sick daddy," he stated sounding like his father should already know. "Daddy comes over to see Jake?"

"Sure squirt. Is that gonna be okay with your mum?" Jack asked.

"Mummy gave Jake phone daddy, is fine," the little boy replied before dropping the phone on the floor and leaning over the bowl Sam had provided for him, before going to check his bed.

Jacob picked up the dropped phone and put it to his ear.

"Jack?" he asked.

"He doesn't sound very healthy," Jack stated.

"We think he had too much ice cream," Jacob said while rubbing his grandsons back in small circles.

"Yeah, that would be my fault…"

"Don't worry about it Jack, he'll be fine. He just needs to learn his limits. Are you coming over?"

"Yeah I'll be right there," he said before hanging up.

"He's been sick everywhere!" Sam exclaimed walking back up the stairs towards her own father and ill child. "Why didn't you tell mummy you had been sick in your bed baby?" she asked him softly after she sat down next to them.

"Mummy be mad at Jake," his voice barely audible.

"Oh baby! I wouldn't be mad at you! It's not your fault you're ill!" a shocked Sam breathed. "Why would you think that?"

Jake shrugged, once again leaning in towards the bowl.

"Mummy loves you very much, you know that right?" Sam titled his head towards her when she was confident he was finished.

Jake looked at his mother and smiled weakly while nodding his head. "Love you mummy."

A knock at the door interrupted everyone's thoughts. Jacob excused himself to answer the door. They all knew who it would be.

"How's he doing?" he asked as soon as the door was opened.

"Still throwing up everywhere. How much ice cream did he have?" Jacob asked as he stepped back to let the younger man enter the house.

"Um, a lot, kid doesn't know when to stop I guess," Jack replied as he stepped over the threshold.

"He's upstairs," Jacob said while closing the door and leading the way.

Jack knew Sam would not be happy with him. He was torn between racing up the stairs to his ill son, who he had grown to love more than anything else in such a small amount of time, and taking his time – not quite ready to face Sam's wrath.

"Daddy," Jake called softly when Jack had reached the top of the stairs.

Jack looked in the direction of the voice and saw Sam and Jake sitting just inside the bathroom. He noticed his son was wearing Thomas the Tank Engine pj's. He had told Jack all about the little train while they were eating ice cream. Jack instantly knew Thomas was the little boy's favourite TV show. His eyes scanned over Sam's body. She was wearing a black chemise. The straps were thin, with lace at the top and bottom of the nightdress. There was a ribbon just below her chest. Her hair was wet; he guessed Jake had been sick on her. Jack's mouth almost dropped open at the sight of her, she looked gorgeous.

"Hey there squirt, how ya feeling now?" he asked, earning himself a death glare from Sam.

"Sick, daddy," he replied.

"You'll be as right as rain soon won't you baby boy?" Sam asked while running her fingers through his soft brown hair.

"Yeah," he smiled hopefully.

It was nearly 5am before Jake finally went to bed again. His stomach settled somewhat. Sam left the now clean bowl by his bed just incase he needed it again.

She quietly crept out of his room and into her own. After pulling on her robe she made her way down the stairs and into the living room, where she found the two men. She stood glaring at Jack as she entered the room.

"What?" he asked stupidly.

"Get out," she glared.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: thank you to all who reviewed! I love all the reviews you send. Good and bad. Here's the latest chapter. Hope you all enjoy this installment, it's a happier one –yay- this is my valentine present to you all, you can make reviews mine. smiles sweetly

I hope to have more up soon but haven't had time to write recently. Been visiting Adam today, my week old baby cousin. He's gorgeous, I even tackled Edinburgh for him! Driving through a city is not fun when you're a country yokel! Hehe.

--

"Sam," Jacob warned.

"You had him for three hours! And look at how ill he is! You should know better!" she yelled.

"He had ice cream! Every kid loves ice cream! How was I to know he would get sick? I've missed out on three years of his life Sam! I'm sorry for trying to make up for that!" he yelled back.

"It's your own fault for missing out on three years! You wouldn't listen, maybe if you had this wouldn't be happening. Ever think of that Colonel? God, how irresponsible can you be? He's TWO, his body can't handle that much ice cream!"

"Exactly, he's two. He needs to learn from his own mistakes. He wont be eating that much ice cream, if any, for a while now."

"I don't want you near my son," her eyes on fire with hatred.

The two men in the room stood rooted the spot in shock. They knew she was mad, but this was too far.

"What?! Sam, I've already lost one son, don't make me lose another one," Jack argued.

"Sam, Jack wants to help. Don't do this. Think of Jake, he needs his dad," Jacob said, trying to calm his daughter.

"We were doing just fine until we came back here. We don't need anyone, least of all him," she spat.

"Sam, honey, this isn't you talking. You need to calm down and think straight," Jacob tried to reason as Sam stormed out of the room. "Sam, where are you going?"

"To get those damn pills," she shouted back, while rummaging the cabinets in the kitchen trying to find her anti-depressants.

Jacob shot a worried look towards Jack, who looked completely clueless, before running into the kitchen and grabbing the packet of drugs from his daughters hand before she could take any.

"Dad, give me my medication," she growled.

"And how many were you planning to take?" he asked, holding them out of her reach.

"Just the one, like the packet says," she stated, folding her arms across her chest.

"Are you telling me the truth Sam?"

"Daddy, I need them. Please, give them back," she begged like a child.

"Please Sam, baby, don't do anything stupid," he said as he handed them back.

"Like what? Take an overdose?" she asked as she threw the packet across the room in rage. "God, dad, why would I do that when I have a son to look after?"

She pushed past her father and into the hall where she found Jack, looking even guiltier.

"I thought I told you to get out," she hissed.

"You're on pills?" he asked in shock.

"Yes Colonel, I take Prozac. Is that a crime?" she once again folded her arms across her chest and stood her ground.

"No… I just never realized it had gotten this bad… Sam, please, let me help you," he begged.

"I don't need your help Colonel. I never did and I never will. If Jake wants to see you again then fine, I'll let him see you, but other than that, I never want to see you again."

Jack watched open mouthed as she stormed up the stairs towards her son's room. He watched as she turned the corner and disappear from sight. He sensed Jacob looking at him and turned round to face him, closing his mouth as he did.

"Jacob, I swear, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her," he stated.

"I know. Even I didn't know it had gotten to this stage. She's very vulnerable just now. Let her calm down properly and she'll be fine."

"I've really screwed up haven't I?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'll go talk to her," Jacob said before walking out of the room and up the stairs.

Jack let out a long breath, and ran a hand through his short hair. He sat down on the nearest chair knowing he could be there a while.

--

"Sam?" Jacob asked as he cautiously entered his daughter's bedroom.

"Go away," she sniffed.

"Sammie, please, talk to me," he begged as he sat down to her.

"About what? There's nothing to talk about," she said as she sat up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest.

"You need to talk to Jack and get things sorted out," he said rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "And the sooner you do it the better."

"I don't want to talk to him dad, he'd only hate me more than he already does."

"Jack doesn't hate you Sammie."

"Yes he does. He hates me for leaving, he hates me for coming back, he hates me for things I've said to him," she vented.

"What have you said to him that I haven't heard?" Jacob coaxed.

"I may have said that he didn't deserve Jake…" she trailed off and looked away. "Out of everything I've said to him, that has to be the worst."

"Why won't you talk to him? Why are you making this so hard for yourself?" he asked, confused.

"I'm scared," she confessed

"What happened to the strong Sam I used to know?" Jacob wondered, knowing his daughter was trying to hide in herself more and more often.

"She got left behind on that planet, and I don't think she's coming back."

"Sam you need to talk to him," he tried.

"I don't think I can dad."

"Remember when you said you wouldn't be able to go though your pregnancy? Or life as a single parent? Or come back to the Springs and tell Jack what he needed to know? You've done all of those things Sam. I know you can do this," his voice confident.

"I can't," she said, her voice shaking.

"Jack wants to help. You know he does, Jake's his son too. Let him be a part of his life, it's the least both of them deserve. Jack's already lost one son, baby, don't make him lose another one."

"That's what he said," her voice was small, tears forming in her eyes.

"I know. I also know he loves Jake more than anything already. I don't think he could cope losing another son, do you?"

"No," she replied as a few tears fell down her cheeks.

"He's still downstairs. Go talk to him. For Jake's sake," he said wiping away the fresh tears.

Sam knew her father wouldn't drop the issue until she spoke to Jack, so she sighed and got off her bed and walked into the hall, muttering to herself as she went. Taking a deep breath she started walking down the stairs nervously.

She slowly entered the room and pulled her robe as tightly round her as she could. She cleared her throat to let him know she was there. His head snapped up at the sound. He knew she was nervous, he could feel it radiating from her.

"Hi," he said, leaning forward in the car he was sitting on.

"Hi," she replied, looking down at her hands.

"I'm sorry," he confessed. He watched as her head snapped up at his announcement, he never apologized.

"Wha… what?" she stammered.

"I'm sorry. For everything," he stood up and slowly made his way over to her, stopping a few feet away to allow her space.

"Me too."

"What are you sorry for?" he asked in shock.

"I don't think I can do this," she admitted. "I'm scared."

"You don't need to be scared Sam, I'm not gonna take him away from you, all I want to do is help. Can you let me do that?" his voice was hopeful.

"I don't know… its hard…" she trailed off.

"I know this is going to be difficult for you to adjust to, its going to be hard on all us. But I know we can do this, if your willing to try."

"I can try," she said confidently.

"You working today?" he asked.

"Was meant to be, but I don't know now. I don't like leaving him when he's ill. It wouldn't be fair on Diane either," she replied.

"I can look after him. Hammond gave me the week off to get to know him and try to work things out with you," he confided. "I wont give him ice cream, I swear."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"He'll make you watch Thomas until you know all the words," she said, thinking it may put him off.

"I'm sure I can handle it," he said, making Sam smile slightly at his reply.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Get some sleep, I'll be back in a few hours," he made way back over to the chair he had been sitting on and took his jacket off the back. He quickly shrugged it on.

He followed Sam to the front door, feeling much happier about their situation. She was beginning to let him in, even if it was only a little. At least she wasn't screaming at him anymore.

"Thanks Sam," he said suddenly.

"What for?"

"For letting me be a part of his life, you have no idea what this means to me," his voice was full of emotion.

"I hope your not going soft on me Colonel, and it's not a problem, this is mainly for Jake anyway."

"I know, but thanks all the same."

"There's a spare room you could use… it would save you going home to come back again…" she offered hesitantly.

"I need to get changed, but thanks for the offer. I'll be back about nine."

It was then that Sam first noticed that he was wearing an old pair of sweatpants and an old faded t-shirt. He was in his night clothes. His pajamas. He hadn't even gotten changed to go to her house in the middle of the night. He'd been to concerned about his son to care what he looked like.

"I'll see you then," she said after a short pause.

"Bye Sam," he said as he walked out the door and towards his truck.

"Bye," she replied before shutting the door. The air was cold and she didn't want too much getting in.

Turning round she jumped at the sight before her. Her father was standing at the bottom of the stairs. She hadn't even heard him.

"Everything alright?" he asked, a slightly worried tone in his voice.

"Yeah, he's coming back about nine to look after Jake while I go to work," she replied as she walked over to him, and put her arms around his neck.

"So I'm not good enough now?" he teased.

"Dad, this was your idea."

"I know, I'm just glad you're letting him do this."

"In a way, so am I. Now, I'm going to bed and try to sleep, I've got work today," she hugged her father before making her way up the stairs towards her room.

Jacob smiled as he watched her go, he had just seen a glimpse of the old Sam. Hopefully she would reappear more often. He made his way into the kitchen, he needed a drink. It was then he saw his daughter's anti-depressants still lying in the corner of the room. Hopefully she wouldn't need them for too much longer.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for staying with me guys, your support means a lot, this is what I have typed over so far. More to come I promise! Hopefully the next chapter should be up soon.

--

Sam quietly walked into her son's room four hours later, and saw that he was awake but looked ready to drop off at any second. She smiled sweetly at him when he looked at her.

"Hey baby, you feeling any better now?" Sam asked as she walked over to her son's bed.

"Little bit mummy," he replied sleepily.

"Guess who's going to be staying with you today while mummy's at work," she said as she sat down next to him and ran her fingers through his soft hair.

"Grandpa?" he replied.

"Yup, but who else?"

"Daddy?" his voice full of hope.

"You betcha," she smiled.

"Daddy be with Jake all day?" he asked, sitting up in all the excitement.

"All day baby," she smiled at his excitement, he was such a happy little boy, and she knew that Jack had had an effect on him already.

There was a loud knock on the door which stopped Jake from replying. Sam gathered her son up in her arms carefully and wrapped his blanket around him before walking down the stairs. She watched as her father opened the door and let Jack in.

Jack smiled at the sight before him. Walking down the stairs towards him was his son, who looked like he had just woken up, and the mother of his child. She too looked as though she had just woken up, but was fully dressed and ready to walk out the door.

"Daddy!" Jake cried.

"Hey there squirt, you feeling any better?" he asked as he took his son into his arms.

"Sleepy daddy," he replied as he lay his head on his fathers shoulder.

"You wanna go back to sleep?" Jake nodded in reply.

"Okay baby, mummy will see you later, you be good," Sam soothed.

"Bye mummy, love you," he said as his eyes closed.

"Love you too baby. Right ok, dad knows where everything is so you don't need to worry about that. He can show you," she said as she led him into the living room.

"I'm sure we'll be fine Sam, he's probably going to sleep most of the day anyway."

"You'll need to wake him up every so often and make him drink something or he-"

"He'll get dehydrated. I know. I've done this before; I know what I'm doin. We'll be fine," Jack reassured her.

"I know… I get worried about leaving him…" she walked over to the sofa and picked up her bag. She looked at it thoughtfully and started fighting with herself internally.

Walking back over to where Jack stood, she looked at him properly. He was holding their son in his arms and he looked at home. There was no denying he loved the little boy. Taking her phone out of her bag, she made up her mind.

"I should give you my number jus in case you need to get in contact with me…"

"You don't have to…"

"Just in case," she repeated.

After giving Jack her number she said goodbye to the two men in her house and placed a soft kiss on her son's head. She took her keys out of her bag and walked out of the house and to her car.

As she drove to the mountain she contemplated her decision about Jack. She knew he deserved to now his son and spend as much time with him as he could. She knew her son deserved to know his dad, he needed a father figure around for most of his life. But she couldn't help but worry. Was she doing the right thing?

Upon entering the compound she used to call home, she ran into Daniel almost straight away. She smiled sincerely at him as he walked towards her.

"Hey Sam, you look exhausted, are you okay?" he asked, concern filling his voice.

"Yeah I'm fine, Jake was up most of the night being sick, but he'll be fine," she replied as they walked down one of the many corridors.

"Who's looking after him? Your dad?"

"Yeah dad's there… so is the Colonel…"

Daniel stopped dead in his tracks. Had he heard her right?

"Jack's looking after him? Sam, is that such a good idea?" he asked worried.

"Jake has every right to know his father. I'm doing this for him, no one else," she replied.

"Yeah, but Sam, that's a huge step to take so quickly."

"My dad's there, it's fine," she argued.

"If you're sure," Daniel replied softly as he started walking again, leaving Sam to ponder her own thought, her mouth open slightly.

--

Jack gently laid Jake down on the sofa and covered him with his blanket. As he looked at his sleeping son, he couldn't help but notice how much he looked like Charlie. He supposed it was because he was father to both children and Sam and Sarah looked similar with their blonde hair and blue eyes.

Jacob watched Jack as he looked at his son, he knew the man was finding similarities with him. He had seen a picture of Charlie to know that Jake looked a lot like him. He knew what happened to Charlie all those years ago, and he could see it in Jack's eyes that he wouldn't be making that same mistake again. This was his second chance, and Jacob knew he wouldn't give it up without a fight.

Walking over to the TV, Jacob put it on. He picked up the remote controls and made his way over to the nearest chair. He flicked through the channels and left it when he got to the news. Since he wasn't on Earth as often as he wanted to be, he was behind on what was happening in his own world. Watching the news and reading the paper was one of the first things he wanted to do every time he managed to get back home, but since the arrival of his grandson, everything was left until he got to see the little boy.

Jacob knew he should want to kill Jack at every opportunity he got, but the fact was, if it wasn't for Jack, Jake wouldn't be there. And while he didn't like the way in which Jake was brought into the world, he could only hate Jack so much. He knew the man would never hurt his daughter on purpose, he was too good for that. Jacob liked Jack from day one, even though he would never admit it. He secretly wished that he and his daughter would be together one day, but he knew that would be a long way off now.

He had been overjoyed when Sam had told him she was pregnant. He knew she had wanted a family, she had since she was a little girl. It took a few moments for everything to settle in his mind. His daughter was pregnant? He didn't even know she was seeing anyone. That was when he started to get curious. So he had asked who the father was. He got the shock of his life when he found out it was on Colonel Jack O'Neill.

He had been furious with her. He thought she has thrown away her career. He had told her what he thought about what she had done, but took it all back when he found out what had happened. She had been incredibly brave to tell him all that she did. When she was finished, Jacob had wanted to hunt Jack down then and there, but had refrained when Sam told him he had been drugged and had no idea about any of it.

It had taken a lot of effort not to say or do anything the next time he saw Jack. He wanted to blast him with Teal'c's staff weapon when he appeared so chirpy. He knew Jack was confused, annoyed and angry about Sam leaving so abruptly without saying anything. He also knew that Jack cared about his daughter, he had heard about the za'tarc incident. He had seen the looks they shared and the stolen touches when they thought no one was looking. Looking back at everything, he doubted they even knew they were doing it.

Jacob sighed; he knew this was going to be a long day. He could see Jack still watching his son sleep, and he couldn't think of anything to say to the man.

--

"Grandpa?" Jake said a few hours later.

"Yeah sport?" Jacob asked after picking up the sound of Jake's voice.

"Thirsty. Jake get drink?" he asked as he sat up on the sofa, looking around as he did.

"Sure thing kiddo. Which flavour would you like?" he asked as he stood up and started making his way to the kitchen.

"Blackcurrant please," he replied.

Jake was handed the plastic cup filled with juice moments later and started to drink eagerly from it.

"Woah slow down kiddo, you'll make yourself sick again," Jacob said, trying to convince the small boy to drink slowly.

"Where daddy?" the child asked innocently.

"He's away to get you something."

"A present?" Jake asked, his voice going squeaky with excitement.

"Yup, all for you. Your dad's gonna have you spoiled little man!"

--

It was some 30 minutes later when Jack re-entered the house, only to have his son run into his legs, nearly knocking him over.

"You is back daddy," he chimed.

"I certainly am squirt. You feeling better?" he asked as he gathered the boy into his arms.

"Uh-huh. You get Jake present?" he asked, his voice full of wonder and innocence.

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" Jack laughed.

"Nope," he smiled.

"Come on then, let's get this set up," Jack said as he started walking into the living room.


	8. Chapter 8

8

Thanks for the reviews guys! Not as many as I'd hoped for though… does that mean that no ones longer interested in this story? :sniff: :wipes away tears: Thank you to all who read/reviewed the last one though, it means a lot that some people are still reading.

This chapter may not seem like much, but my beta reader and I think it's necessary. I hope you all agree. Anyway, here it is. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and review it.

--

Jake was sat on the floor of the living room, his eyes wide with fascination as he watched the small Thomas train race its way around the track. A small smile played at his lips as the train made its way across the bridge.

"Good call on the train set Jack," said Jacob as they watched the little boy stare in wonder at it.

"Thanks, thought he would like it," Jack smiled, proud he had done something right.

They continued to watch Jake for a few more minutes before Jack had to ask the question that had been on his mind for the past few days.

"Jacob, what's with his name?" he blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked, confused.

"He gets called Jake, which I'm assuming is short for Jacob. Sam told me that was his middle name," Jack explained.

"Your right, Jacob is his middle name. Charlie is his first," Jacob surmised. "When he was born, Sam decided she wanted to name him after me - for some reason. She told me, eventually she would tell you about him, and wanted to honour your first son and have Charlie as his first name.

"Mark knew she had been raped, he figured that much out on his own. When he found out she knew who it was and that she worked with you, well lets just say I had to hold him back from getting on the next plane here. He's always been protective of his 'baby sister'.

"I don't know how, but he managed to find out that your first son had died in an accident and that his name was Charlie. He put two and two together and told Sam that there was no way he was going to call his nephew by his first name. He was known as Baby Jake from then on.

"Jake knows his name is Charlie Jacob, and answers to whatever he's spoken to as. He'll answer to Charlie, Jacob, Jake, Jay, and CJ," Jacob stood up as he ended the last sentence. "I'll be right back."

Jack nodded as he took everything that Jacob had said in. Sam's entire family knew he had raped her, and her brother had even tried to get to him. He didn't notice Jacob was back beside him until a piece of paper was held in front of his face.

"What's this?" Jack asked, taking the paper from Jacob's hands.

"Jakes birth certificate," the older man replied.

Jack held the piece of paper in both hands and really looked at it. He read the part about the parents and saw that he was on it. He knew Sam had probably put him on it and not just unknown or left blank, but to actually see it written down was something else.

His mouth fell open when he read and re-read Jake's details over and over again.

"He's an O'Neill?" Jack eventually stammered out, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Jacob laughed.

"I just thought he would be a Carter…"

"Nope, Sam thought it would be best if he was an O'Neill from the start so she wouldn't have to change it later."

"Change it?"

"She was considering having him a Carter, but she knew one day she would tell you about him. She thought you'd want him to have your name, so instead of changing it later on she just put it down as O'Neill," Jacob explained.

"Bet Mark wasn't happy with that one," Jack mused.

"No he wasn't, he tried to get her to change it but Sam wasn't having any of it. Eventually she turned round to him and said 'Mark he's my child, not yours. I'll call him what I want, not what you say he should be.' That shut him up for a while," he reminisced.

"I really need to make things up to her Jacob, how do I do that?" Jack asked as he looked at his son who was still playing with his new train set.

"As long as he's happy, I think that's all she wants right now."

--

It was just after 6pm when Sam pulled up into the drive. She sighed as she rested her head on the steering wheel, it had been a long day. She couldn't help but worry about her son. Although she knew perfectly well that he would be well looked after, a little voice at the back of her mind kept nagging her.

'_You shouldn__'__t have left your son with him, who knows what will have happened,_' it taunted.

'_He__'__ll be fine. He__'__s with my dad too, nothing bad will have happened, everything will be fine_,' she argued with it.

'_You can__'__t know that. It could__'__ve gone horribly wrong, Jake could be in pain. A lot of pain. And it__'__s all your fault for leaving him_,' it said, making her feel incredibly guilty.

With speed she didn't know she had, Sam was out of the car and in the door within seconds. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the telltale sound of her son laughing. He was okay. He was happy.

She took off her coat and hung it up on the peg beside the door and kicked off her shoes. After picking up her bag Sam made her way into the living room and saw all three of 'boys' sitting on the floor re-arranging the blue track then setting Thomas back down and watch him race round the track once again.

She watched as a huge grin appeared on Jake's face as the train started moving and followed the new track.

"Mummy! You is home!" he cheered as he caught sight of her standing in the doorway watching.

"I am baby, are you feeling better?" she asked as he ran into her arms.

"Jake feel loads better mummy! Daddy buy'd'ed Jake a present mummy! Look! Is Thomas!" he pointed towards the train set and the little tank engine zooming round the track.

"I see that baby, that was very nice of daddy, wasn't it?" Jake nodded. "Did you say thank you?"

Jake sat still in his mothers arms for a few moments before gasping and putting his hands over his mouth and struggling to get down. Once he was set down on the floor once again he ran over to Jack and threw his arms tightly around his fathers neck.

"Thank you daddy! Thank daddy for Thomas! Jake love Thomas!" he shouted in Jack's ear.

"That's alright squirt," Jack laughed, he honestly didn't know where the kid got all his energy, especially after being so ill.

--

Jack opened his front door and walked in. His house seemed so empty and quiet compared to the one he had just left. Sighing he walked over to the TV and put it on, hoping the noise emitting from it would help him.

Nope. Nothing. Still not noisy enough.

God, he couldn't do this.

He needed his son around him. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so at peace and happy, so full of energy. His life now had meaning again. How he was going to survive not having his son around him for so long, he didn't know. He knew he was going to struggle.

Looking around the room, he tried to look for ideas on what to do. Nothing caught his eye. The TV wasn't holding his attention, he very much doubted a book would, magazines wouldn't do either.

His gaze fell upon the phone. He would have to do that sooner or later. He figured sooner would be better in the long run.

He sighed as he walked over to it. Picking it up he looked at it as though it should be telling him what to do. Taking the plunge he dialled the still familiar number and put it to his ear. It started to ring.

"Hello?" a male voice answered, one he didn't recognise.

"Hello, is Sara there?" Jack asked, not knowing what to expect.

"Yeah I'll get her. Who's calling?" the voice asked, not overly impressed another male was calling.

"Jack," he answered.

He heard someone putting their hand over the bottom of the phone and some mumbling in the background, before hearing a voice he did know shout "Sara, that ex-husband of yours is on the phone!"

Jack chuckled at his ex-father-in-laws approach and a few stammers from the other male.

"Jack?" Sara asked, her breathing ever so slightly laboured after running to grab the phone off whoever was holding it.

"Hi Sara, is this a bad time?" he asked.

"Um yeah. Is everything okay? Are you alright?" she sounded worried.

"I need to talk to you about something. It's really important. I thought you should be the first to know."

"Oh God Jack, what's happened? You're not hurt or sick are you? Don't move! I'll be right over!" her voice full of panic.

"Woah woah woah Sara! Calm down! I'm fine, seriously!" Jack tried to calm his ex-wife.

"I don't understand, what's happening?" she asked, confused.

"I don't want to tell you over the phone, I need to say it face to face. Meet me tomorrow?"

"Sure Jack, where about?" her voice returning to normal.

"The park? The one with all the swings and slides near the river? Around eleven?"

"Sure, I'll be there, I'll see you tomorrow Jack."

"Bye Sara, thank you," he smiled.

"Bye Jack," she replied before hanging up the phone.

Jack put the phone back on the cradle and walked over to the sofa and lay down. Tomorrow he would have to tell his ex-wife about his new son. He wondered how she would take it.

--

Jack was sat on the park bench watching his son playing with the other children when he felt her approach. He looked to his left and smiled at her as she sat down next to him.

"Hi Jack," she said, confused as to why she was at a park filled with children with her ex-husband.

"Hi Sara," he replied as he turned around to face her, gently pulling her into a hug. "Thanks for coming."

"Jack what's going on? What was so important that you couldn't tell me over the phone?" she asked as they pulled back from one another.

"I didn't interrupt anything last night, did I?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, you did, but it's fine."

"Who answered the phone?" he asked, curious.

"That was Mike, the guy I'm seeing. It's going really well," she said, unsure about how much she should tell him.

"Good, I'm really happy for you."

"Thank you Jack. Now back to the matter at hand. What was so important?" she asked as she took his hands in hers.

"Sara this is really important, I really need you to know, it's the least you deserve."

"Jack?"

This was it, he knew there was no way out of it now. She was probably dying to know why he had brought her here, to a park full of children. The same park they used to bring Charlie to when he was young.

"You see that boy on the slide over there? The one with the brown hair and blue jacket?" he pointed to the child he meant.

"Yeah, what about him?" her curiosity peeked.

"That's my son Sara."


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry this is so late guys, re-found my love of reading books. Got… slightly addicted…. And going out with friends, when I should have been typing up… oops… but yeah, here's the next chapter. It's a happy one! More to come soon! Enjoy and please review! (This hasn't been beat'd. had a little trouble reaching my beta, sent this to her 6 days ago and had no reply, so I'm assuming she has better things to do. Although I can understand if she doesn't want to do it anymore with my slow updates)

--

"Your…son?" she stammered.

"Yeah, Sara, my son."

"How old is he?" she asked.

"He's three in four months."

"He's nearly three and this is the first you've mentioned him?! God Jack don't you think you should have told me before now?!" she shouted, standing up and waving her arms.

"Sara!" he said sternly, trying to calm her down. "I only found out about him three days ago!"

"You what? Three days ago? Jack, what's going on?"

Jack proceeded to explain his situation to his ex-wife, who listened to what he had to say open mouthed. She listened as he told her about Sam leaving and then returning with the small boy, who was undoubtedly his. She gasped when she found out he had been drugged and had raped his friend and team mate. She comforted him when he explained his fight with himself and not knowing what to do about any of it, and that Sam was now on anti-depressants and that she hadn't really come to terms with things.

"Does she know that you were meeting me here?" she asked, knowing the other woman probably wouldn't be very happy if she didn't.

"I mentioned it. I went round to tell her I was going to meet you and would be back for Jake later, but he wanted to come. Guess I'm going soft in my old age, I couldn't say no to him," he paused. "Sara he looks so much like Charlie it's scary."

"Yeah he does. His names Jake? You okay with that?" she asked in a soft and caring voice.

"Yeah I like it, it's short for Jacob. She named him after her dad, who's a great guy by the way. We get on really well, even after what's happened. He was the one who persuaded her to let me look after him. She's not big on the whole trust thing at the minute."

"That's understandable for someone who's went through what she has," Sara agreed.

"Jake's his middle name…"

"What his first?" she asked, cautiously.

"Charlie," he replied softly, barely loud enough for her to hear. He looked over to the woman sitting next to him, who was now as pale as a sheet with a look of sadness on her face. "She wanted to honour our son Sara, this was the way she wanted to do it."

Sara merely nodded and let her eyes rest on the boy who was an almost double of her dead son. A small smile appeared on her face when she saw him smile and wave to his dad. He was right, he looked exactly like Charlie.

Jake ran over to them and fell to the grass laughing. Sara couldn't help but laugh along with him, his laughter contagious.

"Jake played in park daddy!" he exclaimed.

"You certainly did kiddo! Did you have fun?"

"Uh huh!" he stood up and looked at Sara. "Is a lady! Hello lady! You is daddy's friend?"

"Oh Jack! He's so precious!" she said to him as she turned to speak to speak to the child. "Hello there gorgeous, my names Sara, I am your daddy's friend. What's your name?"

"Charlie Jake," he smiled. "I has same name as daddy! I a O'Neewl."

"You're an O'Neill are you?" she laughed as Jake tried to get up on the bench beside them, and told Jack firmly he could do it himself when he tried to help. "Yup, your definitely an O'Neill."

"Miss Sara help Jake?" he asked innocently after he failed to get up by himself after several tries. "Thank you Miss Sara."

"Well he certainly has manners," she mused, once Jake was sitting between them with a carton of juice in his hands.

"Sam's done an amazing job with him," Jack smiled as he ran his fingers through his son's hair, something he had seen Sam do an awful lot.

--

For Jack, the week had gone by far too quickly, and before he knew where he was, it was time to head back to work. He was disappointed about the outcome of his weeks leave. Sure he got to see his son everyday and spend a lot of time with him, he had told his ex-wife about the child and he seemed to be on Jacobs good side for now. But he had made no progress with Sam other than getting her to agree he could visit.

He knew he shouldn't be expecting miracles and that the process of her letting him back in would be long and slow, but that didn't make him feel any better. He wanted things to be back to what they were.

Back to when they were more than just on the same team. When they trusted each other with their lives, when they were in sync with each others every move, when they could have conversations with their eyes. When they were friends. Jack missed that the most.

Every time he closed his eyes at night, all he saw was a happy family, the three of them. Jake sat on the floor a few feet from them playing with his trains. Sam always sat next to him, always leaning into him, her arm around his waist. And her head against his chest. His arm was always around her shoulder and playing with her long hair, his other arm wrapped around her body to settle on her waist, keeping her as close to him as possible.

How he wanted that to be real. To take what had happened and put it behind them, start fresh. But he knew that would be a long way off, if it ever did happen. His feelings for Samantha Carter had never changed. He still loved her more than life itself and would do anything for her. Now that she had given him a second chance at being a parent, he loved her even more.

His only problem was that she didn't feel the same… not now.

He ran his hands over his face as he sat up in his bed. Looking to the side he saw the photo of his son on his bedside table. He smiled slightly at the photo. Jake was staring up at him, his eyes full of mischief and a cheeky grin on his face.

Sighing he put the photo back in its place, next to his photo of his first son. He still couldn't believe how similar they looked. An innocent bystander would think they were the same boy.

Jack swung his legs over the side of his bed and put his feet on the ground. Straightening up to his full height he put his arms above his head and stretched. He groaned as he worked out all the kinks from his sleep.

Something banged as he lowered his arms. It took his a few moments to figure out it was someone knocking on the door. He looked over himself to make sure he was decent enough to answer the door. T-shirt and sweats.

'Yup that'll do,' he thought as he made his way out of the room and down the hall.

His face was a picture of shock when he opened the door and found Sam and Jake on the other side. Jake was wrapped in his mothers arms looking tired, and Sam had a small Thomas backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Well, this, I wasn't expecting," he said eventually.

"Has General Hammond called you yet?" Sam asked.

"No, not that I've heard. Why?" he replied as he stepped back to let them in.

"He called me this morning and asked if I could help out SG-7. Which leaves Jake without a sitter. He said you could take the day off to look after him, if that's ok?" Sam said, hesitantly, not quite at ease being in his house again.

"Sounds good to me. How about it squirt? Another day with your old dad?" he asked playfully.

"Day with daddy? At daddy house?" he asked, wakening up slightly.

"That's the plan baby," Sam answered.

"Yay!" the little boy exclaimed.

Sam put Jake on the floor by her feet and handed him his bag. She smiled at him as she knelt in front of him.

"You be good for daddy, ok? Don't brake anything. I'll see you later," she said as she hugged him goodbye.

"Bye mummy, Jake be good for daddy."

"He has his train set that you got him in his bag, and a few other things to keep him out of trouble… hopefully… thanks for this," she said to Jack as she straightened up and looked at him.

"Hey its not a problem, bring him by anytime. It'll be good for you getting back in the field."

"Yeah, I guess… well… I better go… you know where I am if anything happens… bye…"

"Bye Sam," Jack said as he opened the door and let her out, Jake by his legs waving to his mother as she got in her car.

As soon as he closed the door, his phone started to ring. No doubt General Hammond calling him to tell him of the situation.


	10. Chapter 10

I know its short, but its better than nothing right? Thanks to Monica for looking over this for me, and thanks to all who replied to my request. I do plan on sending you all something in the future! I'm very sorry I couldn't reply to you. Been very bust recently.

For those of you, including Monica, who have questions about this chapter, the answers will be in the following chapters, so fear not -grin-

But anyway, to the story!

--

The following weeks had gone by in a blur to Sam, she didn't know where the time went. One minute she was off on her first mission in nearly four years and the next it was her tenth.

She loved going off world, it reminded her of the good old days where everything was normal. When she was still a member of SG-1, even though she was never off world with them anymore. When she used to fight enemies to protect her world, even though she was only doing the work of a scientist now.

What she loved most was going home every evening and seeing her son run to her and throw his arms around her legs. She felt loved. She loved to see his smiling face, his cheeky grin, his mischievous eyes and his uncontrollable energy.

He was the most important person in the world to her, and he called her mummy.

She knew going off world was doing her a lot of good. She was a lot happier than she had been in years. She was smiling even when her son wasn't around, and even first thing in the morning.

She could feel something tugging at her arm. Slowly her eyes opened and a smile spread across her face. Jake was trying to climb into her bed, using her arm as something to pull himself up.

She pulled him up onto the bed beside her and cuddled him to her chest while he laughed.

"And just what do you think you're doing young man?" she asked him as she tickled his sides.

"Come to sleep with mummy," he replied through his giggles.

"And what's wrong with your bed?"

"Mummy's better," he sighed as he snuggled in and yawned.

--

A loud screeching noise woke her from her slumber. She stretched and looked around for the intruding noise, careful not to wake the sleeping child in her bed. Her eyes caught sight of the phone.

Quickly picking it up, she put it to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked sleepily.

"Morning Sam," the voice replied, one she knew very well.

"Morning General, what can I do for you?"

"I'm really sorry to ask you this Sam, I know its your day off, but I need you to go off world and take a look at something SG-3 found yesterday."

"Sure that's fine, I'll just need to find someone to look after Jake. What time do you want me in?" she asked as she got out of her bed and walked to her wardrobe.

"Their leaving in three hours. I'm sure Jack wouldn't mind looking after Jake, it's his day off anyway. I'll give him a call and let him know if you like?" the General offered.

"That would be great General. I'll see you in a few hours."

After she hung up the phone she turned around and saw her son star-fished on the bed, making it impossible for her to get back in even if she wanted to. He snored softly and Sam smiled to herself, he never ceased to amaze her with his sleeping.

He was just like his dad, he could sleep anywhere and through anything. She let out a small laugh as she remembered him falling asleep at a bowling ally at the noisiest time of the day.

/flashback/

Jake let go of his uncles hand and walked the short distance to his mother, who was sat on the bench waiting her turn to bowl.

"Hey baby, you get a drink?" she asked as she sat him on her lap.

"Uh huh," he smiled. "Blackcurrant, see?" he held the carton of juice in front of her face and waved it about.

"Did you say thank you to Uncle Mark?"

"Yup."

"Good boy."

Jake looked about the room as he drank his juice and yawned when he finished. He put both hands over his mouth as he yawned and turned to face his mother as he did so.

"I's tired mummy, wanna go seep," he complained.

"Aw baby, we wont be too much longer, think you can stay awake just a little while longer?" her fingers trailing through his hair.

"I's tries mummy," he replied.

It was then that Sam took her turn to bowl, and when she returned to the bench she found her son sound asleep with his head on her jacket.

/end flashback/

Turning back to her wardrobe she breathed at laugh and opened the doors, intending to find something to wear.

--

Sam walked down the corridors of the SGC with a small smile on her face. She had a reason to be happy today. Even though she had to cancel her plans because of work.

Today was the day she finally smiled at Jack O'Neill, the man who had rapped her when drugged and had made her life hell for the past four years, and meant it. She never thought she would see the day that smiling at him would be as easy as it used to be.

Walking into the locker room she found the rest of the team already getting geared up. She smiled politely at them all before getting ready herself.

Once they were all geared up and ready to go, they exited the locker room and made their way to the gate room. Sam falling into step with the teams scientist. Conversation came easily between the two, having already worked with each other before.

Standing at the bottom of the ramp the feeling of excitement filled Sam throughout. The feeling got more intense as the wormhole opened. Walking up the ramp brought a new feeling. One of dread.

As she walked through the event horizon with the rest of the team, fear flooded her.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the long delay again guys. Hopefully you'll all still read. Had a lot going on just now. This hasn't been beta read yet. I wanted to get it out as soon as possible. Hope that's okay. I can't see too many mistakes. Hope you all enjoy.

11

The fear did not leave her when she made it to the other side. It only made it worse.

Shaking her head she told herself she was being paranoid. This planet had been abandoned for several thousand years, and they were one of the first people to set foot on it since.

She made her way down the steps with the other members of the team and set off towards the ruins where the object was found.

After about half an hours walk they came upon the ruins. Sam and the other members of the team were rooted to the ground in shock, their mouths swinging open.

Before them was a piece of Ancient technology. Never before had any of them seen such a vast piece up close.

With wide curious eyes, and excitement and wonder that pushed the dread away, Sam made her way closer to the machine. The rest of the team a few paces behind.

"Wow," she breathed as her left hand traced some of the markings on the device.

She quickly located the control panel at the back of the device, close to the back of the cavern where it was situated. There were leavers and what looked like buttons on one of Jake's favourite toy all over the panels.

She laughed at the comparison she had made and smiled at the team members who looked at her as though she was mad.

"Sorry, it just looks like something my son plays with," she explained.

"Well then, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out," the team leader joked, and

returned the smile.

"If that were only the case," Sam replied.

"Okay people, let's see if we can figure out what this thing is and how it works, if it still does."

--

"I think I've found a way to turn it on!" Dr. Turner, SG-7's scientist, exclaimed two hours later. He was currently lying under the machine with his feet sticking out at the end.

"Well try it Michael, the quicker we figure out what it does the quicker we can go home and get some real food," Colonel Briggs replied, a little impatient with his rations, that he never grew to like.

The machine started to purr with life as Dr. Turner shuffled his way out from under the machine. The tower glowed a faint orange while the controls went blue.

"Ha, told you I found a way to turn it on!" he said, his voice full of excitement.

No sooner had he said the words, the cave in which the device was located started to shake. Small pieces of rock started to fall from the ceiling and the team was soon covered in dust.

"What's happening?" Captain Haynes cried.

"We need to get out of here!" Sam shouted back while picking up her bag and equipment.

"Okay people, move, move, move!" Colonel Briggs yelled over the noise of the bigger falling rocks.

The team quickly made their way to the exit of the cave, but suddenly stopped short at the sound of a scream of pain. Looking round, the team laid eyes on Dr. Turner lying on his front with a piece of shattered rock on his leg.

"God damnit Turner!" Briggs cussed. "Okay, Haynes, get his left arm. Carter get his right. I'll move the rock, Kerr, you're with me!"

Captain Kerr quickly made his way to the left side of his fallen friend and helped his commanding officer move the rock. As soon as the rock had been moved Haynes and Sam pulled him up onto his feet.

Once clear of the cave and falling rocks and dust the team sank down to the ground. Kerr pulled out his medical kit and started to look over Michael.

"Bloody hell Michael, you've made a good job of this one! You're not gonna be leaving Earth for awhile!" Kerr scolded him.

"Sorry David," Michael apologized.

"You remind me of Daniel, Michael," Sam laughed.

"Ah Dr. Jackson, I try and model myself on him," Michael joked, while the team laughed at him.

"Well you're doing and excellent job!" Sam laughed.

As Captain Kerr cleaned and wrapped Turner's wound the rest of the team took the opportunity to relax. It was then that Sam realised what her bad feeling had been about. She knew something was going to go wrong, and it had. Dr. Turner had been injured, but with the right medical attention he would be up and about in no time.

Sam exhaled and visibly relaxed. Panic over.

It took them nearly two hours to get back to the Gate. Turner's injury slowed them considerably, having to swap team members every so often to give the others a break. All the way Turner was apologising.

Upon finally reaching the Gate, Sam made her way across to the DHD. As she pressed the familiar symbols, Turner passed out from the pain. She smiled sympathetically at Colonel Briggs and Captain Haynes as they passed her with an unconscious Dr. Turner in their arms. She smiled at the awkwardness of the position he was in.

She and Captain Kerr brought up the rear. Sam was the last to walk through the Gate. Taking a second longer to look back in the direction that had come from. She could see what used to be the cave in the distance, now I pile of rubble.

--

Sam walked down the ramp leading away from the Gate to see that Michael was now being wheeled away to the infirmary on a gurney. She shook her had and watched all the dust fall from her hair fall to the ground. She needed a shower.

Slowly she made her way out of the Gate room and down the corridor. She smiled slightly at the people she passed. She coughed slightly the more she walked. A few passing airman stopped and asked if she was okay, concern filling their faces as the coughing grew steadily worse.

"I'm fine really," she told them, coughing as she did so.

"Maybe you should get checked out first ma'am," one said as he held out his arms as if to catch her if she were going to fall.

"No, I'm fine, I just need a shower first," she replied as she walked away.

The young Native American airman looked on in worry as she walked down the corridor away from him. Making up his mind he walked towards the General's office with a purpose, he had to do something. He couldn't let her walk away knowing something could happen for the worse.

He arrived at the General's office in record time and explained his worry's. The General promptly thanked the young man and called the infirmary, then his own second-in-command.

He knew Jack would want to know what was going on, even if it resulted in nothing.

--

Sam stood under the blast of the shower, her face tilted upwards, her hands running through her hair. She knew she had stood there longer than necessary, but she didn't care, she didn't feel clean. Even though she knew she was, the water was running clear now.

She had to turn her face down towards the ground as the coughs started up again. She couldn't remember the last time she had coughed that bad for that amount of time. Perhaps when she was a child.

Her coughing got so violent she thought she was going to be sick. She knew then she would have to get the infirmary as soon as she could and get checked out. She couldn't pass this on to her son.

Stepping out of the shower cubicle wrapped in a towel she got dried and dressed as quickly as she could and then exited the room.

She was nearly at the infirmary when the next wave of violent coughing took control. Her right hand went up to her mouth instinctively, while left went to the wall so she could grab onto something. She knew if she was to let got of the wall she wouldn't be able to stand up right.

Once the coughing subsided again she looked at her hand. It was splattered with blood and cave dust. Her eyes widened in horror, and her mouth fell slack.

"Sam!" she heard her name being called.

She looked up and saw Jack running towards her. He was meant to be looking after their son. Where was Jake?

"Where's Jake?" she asked hoarsely.

"He's with Daniel on the surface," he explained. "Are you okay? The General called me, said an airman told him you were coughing a lot and it didn't sound healthy."

It was then that he noticed her hand that was still in the air. He looked on in shock as he took in the sight of the blood and dust that covered it.

"Oh God Carter!" he exclaimed as she started to cough up more blood and dust.

Acting on impulse, Jack gathered Sam up into his arms and ran towards the infirmary. He felt Sam tense at the contact between them. He knew she was remembering the last time he had touched her, not a pleasant memory. But he was surprised at how quickly she relaxed into his arms. It wasn't until her head fell back that he realised she was unconscious.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter, it makes me feel better to know some people are still reading. Good news folks, I can see and ending on the horizon!

Thanks to Monica for reading over this for me and giving me advice on what to do with it -grin- you're a star!

This chapter will explain the name change to this story. Hope you all like.

12

--

Sam groaned softly as she started to wake. Her hand went to her throat to massage it.

"Good to have you back Carter," a voice to her right said.

Sam turned her head so she could see who was talking to her. It didn't surprise her in the slightest when she saw it was Jack.

"How long was I out?" she asked, her voice all scratchy.

"A good few hours. It gave the staff enough time to get all that dust out of you, the blood shouldn't be coming up anymore either. You gave Jake quiet a scare," he replied.

"Oh God, Jake! Is he okay?" she asked as she tried to sit up.

"He's fine, he's with Uncle Daniel and Uncle Teal'c. They're trying to keep him occupied until you woke up," Jack explained as he pushed her back down.

"Why are you here?"

"I was worried. Someone had to stay with you while you were out. And you woke up very briefly on the way to the infirmary, you said…"

"What? What did I say?" she asked, her curiosity peeked, not remembering the exchange herself.

"It doesn't matter what you said. All that matters now is you getting better, for Jake."

--

Jack sat by Sam's bedside while she slept. He put his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands as he exhaled slowly. He glanced towards the woman sleeping on the bed and shook his head. This certainly put a new twist on things as far as he was concerned. He was tempted to tell her what she had said when she had woken earlier, still in his arms.

/flashback/

Jack shifted her weight slightly as he neared the infirmary. She wasn't a light as she used to be.

"Jack?" she whispered softly.

His head snapped down to look at her, she never called him that. It wasn't until he found her eyes open and looking up at him that he was confident that he wasn't hearing things.

"We're almost there Sam," he reassured her, as they turned the last corner.

"Don't let go," she said quietly before she passed out again.

Jack came to a halt then, not fully believing what she had just said to him. 

She didn't, did she? As quickly as he had stopped, he started moving again.

Once in the infirmary he noticed the ever efficient staff were waiting on them. He noticed Janet waiting by the first available bed and he made his way over to her. Gently he placed Sam on the bed and let the staff do their jobs.

Jack made his way over to the wall that held the phone and called the surface to inform Daniel what had happened. Once he had done that he looked over to the mother of his child and internally promised her that he would do as she asked.

He would never let go.

/end flashback/

Jack sighed as he replayed the memory over and over again. For a moment there he thought he had lost her.

He reached over and brushed some of her hair away from her face. A smile played on his lips, it was softer than he remembered it. He knew he shouldn't, but he liked how he could touch her again. It was innocent, out of protection and friendliness.

--

"Wanna go see mummy!" Jake shouted.

"You can't go see her just now Jake, she's sleeping. You'll get to see her tomorrow," Daniel said to the unhappy child.

"Wanna see mummy now!" he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted his lips.

"Jake, please. You can see her all you want tomorrow, but right now you need to go to sleep," Daniel sighed.

"Daddy gets to see mummy!" he argued.

"I know that. Your dads looking after her," Daniel never knew that a child having a temper tantrum could be so exhausting.

"Wanna see mummy NOW!" Jake yelled, making his demands clear.

"Charlie Jacob O'Neill, your mother is sleeping and is not yet ready for visitors. You will do as Daniel Jackson has asked, and go to sleep. You may see both your parents tomorrow," Teal'c said with authority.

Jake looked up at his tallest and scariest looking Uncle, and backed down immediately. Even at his young age Jake knew not to cross the man. He jumped off the small stool he was standing on and ran across to the bed, which he struggled to climb on to.

Daniel took pity on the small boy and helped him onto the bed. Jake smiled his thanks. He looked across to the big man and dived under the covers.

"How'd you manage that?" Daniel asked once he was sure Jake was asleep.

"You must show the child who is in charge Daniel Jackson," he answered simply.

--

It was morning when Sam next awoke, her throat dry and sore. As soon as her eyes were open a cup of ice chips were in front of her face.

"Want some?" Jack asked.

"Definitely," she tried to reply. Jack laughed softly at her weak response.

"Can you sit up yourself or do you need a hand?" he asked hesitantly.

Slowly Sam managed to get herself to sit up in the bed, she couldn't believe how weak she was. As soon as she was settled Jack held out the ice chips again.

"Thanks," she replied, her voice a little stronger.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sam had to say something.

"Colonel?" she asked, and waited for him to look at her. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"Not a problem Carter," he smiled.

"Did you stay all night?" she asked, already knowing the answer. She had woken a few times during the night because of her throat and had seen him sleeping in the chair next to her bed.

"Uh, yeah, I fell asleep where I was sitting," he admitted shyly.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"For putting up with me. After all I've put you through. I don't deserve it," she looked at the cup of chips in her hands.

"I think I would've done the same in your position Sam. I know this isn't easy for you," he stood up and stretched again, still feeling stiff from sleeping in a chair all night.

"Colonel?"

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned to face her, and noticed a sad look in her eyes. "What's up?"

"I think we need to talk, properly. About everything," her eyes held his, daring him to look away.

"I thought I'd never hear you say that," he smiled. "But not here. And there's someone who wants to see you." he cocked his head in the direction of the doors.

From the corner of his eye he could see Jake having to be held down by Teal'c as he bounced up and down, getting ready to run to his mother. Jack nodded to Teal'c, who lifted his hands from the child's shoulders. It took Jake less than a second to notice that hands were no longer restraining him, and he was off, running to his mum.

Jack grabbed the boy by his waist and lifted him up in the air then settled him in his mothers arms. He looked at them through loving eyes. He had never seen them so happy.

He also knew that Sam would now be lost without her son. He was everything to her. He also knew that Jake was everything to him. He had only known the child two months and already he knew he would die if he lost him.

"Daddy," Jake said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah squirt?"

"I wants a sister."


	13. Chapter 13

_Hey guys! Sorry for the bit of delay on this, it was my 21__st__ and I went to Rome to celebrate with the parents and my sis. My beta looked over this and sent it back just before we left, she had a few ideas for me._

_I've added bits in since she's read it, but most of it has been read over. She suggested I take the flashback out, but I think it's cute so I'm gonna leave it in, sorry Monica!_

_A huge shout out to my old beta reader Megan Cooper, who I miss dearly. I miss our conversations on AIM hun, but Vista still wont let me get AIM back. And I may take you up on your offer!_

_Also, if any of my readers are Italian, let me know! I may want to use Italian in some of my fics. I am learning Italian, but I'm only a beginner so it'll take me a while to get there._

_Anyway, this is the last chapter of the story. Hope its not too rushed. There will be an epilogue, I've already started writing it, and hopefully shouldn't take too long to finish but I am at college now so I cant promise anything. I missed 3 days to go to Rome and that's about 9/10 subjects I need to catch up on. Eeep._

_I'll let you all read now, I know most people don't read authors notes anyways._

_--_

_13_

"_You want what?__"__ Jack asked, stammering._

"_A sister daddy, like Callum.__"_

_Jack finally found his feet and walked over to the chair he had spent the night sleeping in, and sank down onto it._

"_I__…__ uh__…__ ask your mother,__"__ he said in a panic._

"_Mummy, can Jake have a sister?__"__ he asked innocently, his big brown eyes pleading with her._

"_We__'__ll see baby, maybe later,__"__ Sam replied, shocked._

"_Please mummy? Please,__"__ he begged while hugging her tightly._

"_I__'__ll think about it,__"__ she promised him, looking towards Jack with wide panic filled eyes._

"_Love you mum. Unca Daniel wouldn__'__t let Jake see mummy last night,__"__ he complained as he pulled back to look Sam in the eyes._

"_Mummy was sleeping last night babe, mummy wasn__'__t well,__"__ Sam explained to him._

"_Oh, sorry mummy.__"_

"_It__'__s okay baby,__"__ she soothed him as she ran her fingers through his hair._

"_So can Jake have a sister?__"_

_--_

_Jack was sat on a chair in the commissary pondering Jake__'__s words when Daniel sat opposite him. They smiled briefly at each other before Daniel turned to the files in front of him, leaving Jack to his own thoughts._

_His son wanted a sister._

_Of all the things his son could have come out with. He didn__'__t know what to do. He knew he would be talking things through with Sam once she was out of the infirmary, but until then he didn__'__t know what the outcome would be._

_If things didn__'__t turn out the way he wanted, there would be no way he would be able to give his son what he wanted. He sighed as he thought about it._

_Daniel looked up from his file and offered a smile of sympathy, he knew what Jack would be thinking about, he had heard what Jake had said._

_Jack wanted them to be a family, a proper one. But he knew he could never force Sam to do anything she didn__'__t want to, it was the least she deserved._

_He wondered how she was feeling about Jake__'__s request._

_--_

_Sam half lay, half sat on her infirmary bed with her son sleeping in her arms while she too thought about what her son had said._

_She had no idea where that request had come from and it worried her a little._

_Would she ever be able to give her only child a sibling? And more importantly, with the same father he had?_

_She didn__'__t know if he would be an only child all his life. She knew she didn__'__t want him to be, scared he would get lonely on his own. But she also didn__'__t know if she would ever be emotionally ready for another child; she hoped she would be._

_Looking down at her sons brown hair she smiled and silently promised him that she would try to give him a sibling__…__ one day._

_She closed her eyes and soon feel asleep only feeling the hot breath on her skin from her sons open mouth._

_--_

"_Okay baby, you need to be good for Uncle Daniel. I don__'__t want to hear you had another tantrum. That wasn__'__t nice. I__'__m going to talk to your dad about a few things, so I don__'__t know how long I__'__m going to be.__"_

"_Okay mummy, Jake be good, promise,__"__ he said in a voice which Sam doubted, and by the look on Daniel__'__s face he thought the same._

"_Behave,__"__ Sam warned him._

_She quickly hugged her son then stood up. She thanked Daniel and apologized in advance for any trouble her son would most likely cause._

_As she walked away from the car and up the drive leading towards Jack__'__s house, she felt her nerves start to play up, but she knew she had to do this._

_It had been two days since she had been released from the infirmary after making a promise to Jack that they would finally talk things through. Something which should have happened nearly four years ago._

'_Better late than never,__'__ she thought to herself._

_Jack stood with the door open waiting on her before she got halfway up the drive. He smiled at her as she came to a stand still on the other side of the door. He couldn__'__t believe his luck. She was ready to talk to him and work things out._

"_Hi Colonel,__"__ she said confidently, her voice braver than she expected._

"_Sam, it__'__s Jack,__"__ he smiled as he stepped back to let her in._

"_Jack,__"__ she said, trying to get used to saying it._

_He led the way to the kitchen and motioned for her to take a seat at the dining room table. She followed him instead._

"_Coffee?__"__ he asked._

"_Sounds great,__"__ she agreed._

_Jack proceeded to make the coffee from scratch so it would be fresh, not wanting to give her the stuff he had made earlier. Sam looked around the small room and noticed nothing had changed in the past four years. _

_Jack watched her as she ran her left hand over the counter top as she took everything in. He looked on fondly as she absent mindedly played with her hair and his kitchen utensils._

_He smiled softly as he watched her back up against the counter and pull herself up so she was sitting on it. She looked at home. They way she did four years ago on team nights._

_She noticed his staring at her and turned to look at him. She smiled innocently, as though she had no idea what she had just done to cause him to look at her like that. She knew he was reminded of team nights when she sat on the counter._

_/flashback/_

_Jack stood up and walked from the living room to the kitchen to get more beer from the fridge. He knew he was being followed, and he knew who by._

"_Need any help Sir?__"__ she asked as she followed him into the kitchen._

"_Well since you__'__re here,__"__ he smiled at her._

_Sam smiled back as she climbed up onto the counter behind him. She opened one of the drawers from where she was sitting and pulled out the bottle opener. She opened the bottles as they were passed to her._

_Once all the bottles were open she picked one up for herself and handed one to Jack. They both took a drink before Jack started to snigger._

"_What?__"__ Sam asked. __"__Do I have something on my face?__"__ her hands went to her face and she started to run her hands over it trying to find something wrong._

"_No you__'__re fine. It__'__s just__…"_

"_It__'__s just what?__"__ she asked after taking another drink._

"_Why don__'__t you move in Carter? You look at home sitting up there,__"__ he teased._

_Sam choked on her beer then, not expecting that answer. She looked at him with wide eyes, then smiled widely, knowing the alcohol in her system was giving her extra confidence around him._

"_Oh I wouldn__'__t say that if I were you Sir, you might not get rid of me,__"__ she teased back._

_Jack smiled at her then, then moved so he was in front of her. He shook his head at her and laughed again._

"_C__'__mere,__"__ he said while holding out his arms._

_Sam jumped down from her perch and moved into his arms for a soft tender hug. She felt his hand rest round her waist and his other tangle in her hair. She sighed contently, knowing this would be as close as they would be allowed to get. She also knew that they were breaking regulations by embracing the way they were, but she didn__'__t care._

_Jack held her close. He loved the way her body seemed to melt into his, like they were two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle being put together. He let his hand rest in her hair, he loved how it felt so soft and silky. He also knew that they were breaking regulations, and he also didn__'__t care. He wanted her to be in his arms forever, now she was truly home._

_He kissed her forehead softly as they pulled back, smiling as she blushed._

"_Come on, Daniel and Teal__'__c will wonder where we are,__"__ he said as he took hold of her hand._

_Sam grabbed the other beer while Jack got the orange juice, and followed him back to the living room where Star Wars was playing on the TV._

_The remaining members of the team turned round to look at them as they re-entered the room. Seeing them holding hands was nothing new to them, they were used to seeing it on team nights. Daniel smiled at them through a pained smile as he was handed his beer. He hated the fact that his two friends could not be together. He knew they deserved to be, they deserved to be happy. He knew they would be happy together._

_Jack sat back down on the sofa, after handing Teal__'__C his juice, and pulled Sam down next to him. He let go of the hand he was holding and put his arm around her while taking hold of her other hand. He smiled at her as she rested her head on his shoulder and put her arm around his waist, holding him close then went back to watching the film they had all seen far too many times._

_/end flashback/_

"_Thanks,__"__ she said as he handed her the mug of coffee. She smiled softly at him._

"_You wanna talk here? Or go somewhere a bit more comfortable?__"__ he asked before taking a sip of his own coffee._

"_Living room sounds good,__"__ she said as she put her coffee on the counter and jumped down. She picked it back up then followed him into the living room and sat at the other end of the sofa._

"_Where do you want to start?__"__ Jack started._

"_Well you already know everything that happened and the result of it.__"_

"_What about your pills?__"__ concern laced his voice._

"_Janet thinks that I won__'__t need them soon. I__'__m a lot happier than before. She__'__s given me different ones, ones that aren__'__t as strong. So it__'__s a start,__"__ she explained while looking him in the eye._

"_I__'__m glad to hear that. Sam, I want you to know that I__'__m really sorry for what happened that night. Even though I can__'__t remember any of it, I feel as though I do, you know?__"_

"_I don__'__t think I__'__m sorry anymore,__"__ she sounded surprised, even to her own ears._

"_You__'__re not?__"__ he was as shocked as she was about her confession._

"_No, look what we got out of it. An amazing little boy. I thought I__'__d never have a family, no matter how small. Now I have a son, one who means everything to me and I don__'__t think I__'__d be able to survive without him now. And you, you__'__ve got a second chance at being a parent. You__'__re amazing with him, you know that?__"__ she smiled. She could feel the old Sam returning slightly._

"_You think?__"_

"_Yeah, you__'__ve had such an effect on him. Believe it or not, but he__'__s a lot happier now and has more energy. He loves spending time with you. You do whatever he wants, you even watch Thomas with him, even though you__'__ve seen it a million times by now.__"_

"_I love spending time with him, he__'__s got an addictive personality. When you first told me about him I wanted to spend all my time with him, and when I came home at night it was so quiet, I couldn__'__t stand it.__"_

"_I__'__m sorry for all I put you through, if I could take it back I would.__"_

"_You don__'__t have to apologise Sam. I understand why you did it. I just wish I had listened to you back then, things could be so different now.__"_

"_Yeah I know,__"__ she agreed. __"__But now we have a chance to start fresh.__"_

"_We do. It feels amazing to be able to talk to you again Sam, I__'__ve missed this,__"__ he confessed. _

_Sam looked on with shocked eyes, he was being open with her, a lot more open than she had expected._

"_Me too,__"__ she told him. __"__I think that, for Jake__'__s sake we should try and make an effort for things to work between us.__"_

"_Really?__"__ Jack asked shocked, not expecting that from her so soon. __"__How so?__"_

"_I think we should see how it goes, but I think dad wants us to get married,__"__ Sam laughed._

"_I got that impression too,__"__ Jack laughed with her._

"_How about we concentrate on being friends again first?__"_

"_That__'__s the least I want Sam.__"_

_The sat in silence for a few minutes drinking the rest of their coffee. The silence felt comfortable, like when they had been friends the few years before._

"_What do you think of Jake__'__s request?__"__ Jack sniggered._

"_Oh God,__"__ she put her head in her hands. __"__Now that he__'__s got that idea in his head he__'__s gonna stick to it and not let it go for awhile, if at all. I don__'__t think I__'__m ready for another one yet. When I__'__m off the anti-depressants for good I might consider it.__"__ She looked at him from under her hair and saw that he agreed with her words._

"_I think dad wants another grandchild__…"__ Jack said._

"_He wants more than one,__"__ Sam told him._

"_Really?__"___

"_Oh yeah, just after I found out Jake was ok and I got to hold him for the first time he said, and I quote, __"__between you and Mark you could make a baseball team, how about it Sam?__"__ I wanted to hit him for that one.__"_

"_Oh well, only six more kids to go__…"__ Jack said, a scared look on his face._

"_I told him if he wanted that many grandkids he should__'__ve had more children of his own, he went pale at the thought. And said, __'__after you Sam, I don__'__t think I could__'__ve handled any more__'__.__"_

_Sam and Jack continued to talk things through for the next few hours. They talked through their feelings about the incident on the planet and how they had been in the weeks that followed. Sam told Jack of her distress that he wouldn__'__t listen to her when she found out she was expecting._

_They talked about what it could have been like had he listened, and where they would be today._

"_Do you think we would be together? Maybe be married or something if I had listened?__"__ Jack asked, hesitant._

"_Um, I__'__m not sure. Probably__…__ dad probably would have made you ask at the very least.__"_

"_He wouldn__'__t have needed to make me ask you, I would__'__ve done it regardless. I would__'__ve done the right thing Sam, for all of us.__"_

"_I had a feeling you would say that,__"__ she smiled._

_Jack smiled back at her and ran a hand through his hair._

"_Well, I suppose I should save Daniel from going insane,__"__ Sam announced, four hours after she arrived. __"__Thank you, for everything today.__"_

"_It__'__s not a problem, I__'__m glad we__'__ve sorted this out,__"__ he said as they stood up and walked towards the door._

"_You__'__re welcome to come round anytime,__"__ Sam said as she opened the door and stepped out._

"_I__'__ll keep that in mind, thanks Sam,__"__ he said as he stood on the threshold._

_Sam surprised him then, she stepped towards him and took him in her arms. She held him tightly once his arms had wrapped themselves around her._

"_Don__'__t let go of us Jack,__"__ she whispered._

"_I__'__ll never let go Sam. Never,__"__ he replied._


End file.
